Published 6:30 am, Friday, January 7, 2011

ARLINGTON — Ryan Tannehill has proved himself a man of many talents for Texas A&M this season. He has run, thrown, caught, held for field goals and punted. On Friday night, he added an impressive tackle on the A&M 2-yard line to his list.

In this case, that wasn’t a good thing. Tannehill’s takedown in the second quarter followed his worst pass of the season — one of a handful of regrettable offerings from the usually reliable quarterback. His off-kilter evening simply mirrored that of his teammates on both sides of the ball in the 75th Cotton Bowl, as LSU defeated A&M 41-24 before 83,514 in Cowboys Stadium.

“We weren’t perfect in any way, but this football team has strength,” LSU coach Les Miles said.

Meanwhile, A&M linebacker Mike Hodges will simply be left with a frustrating memory of his final college game. The Aggies’ Wrecking Crew defense suffered a big loss late in the first quarter, when Hodges, who aligns the A&M defenders each play, left the game with a knee injury.

“I would hate to put (the loss) on that, because injuries are part of the game, and we have to be able to adjust with the loss of someone like Michael,” A&M coach Mike Sherman said. “He is the heart and soul of our defense in many ways, but you can’t use that as (an excuse).”

But in Hodges’ absence over the last three quarters LSU time and again exploited the middle, with the run and pass.

Toliver ties Cotton record

For his part, receiver Terrence Toliver of Hempstead came up big for the Tigers in snapping a six-game A&M winning streak. He entered the game with only two touchdown catches on the season, but the senior had three by early in the second half, including on two deep passes over the middle on receptions of 42 and 41 yards.

“Playing the game of my life in my home state was great,” Toliver said.

Tannehill, who entered the game with three interceptions, threw two in the first half (and three overall), including a pass straight to safety Eric Reid, who returned the easy catch 34 yards to the A&M 2, where Tannehill wrestled him down late in the second quarter. Three plays later, LSU quarterback Jordan Jefferson hooked up with Toliver for his second touchdown catch on the night, lifting LSU to a 28-17 lead just before halftime.

“I feel bad for my teammates. I dropped the ball and that’s a tough feeling,” Tannehill said. “You never want to do that to the guys you love and the guys you work so hard with.”

Five plays into the third quarter, the Tigers (11-2) put away the Aggies (9-4) when Jefferson threw deep to Toliver over the middle to propel LSU to a 35-17 lead. Toliver’s three touchdown catches tied a Cotton Bowl record. Four years ago out of Hempstead, the top-rated recruit didn’t consider A&M — 40 miles up Highway 6 — because of then-coach Dennis Franchione’s option-oriented offense.

The Aggies’ misery in bowls continued as well with their fifth consecutive loss in the postseason — three of those coming to Southeastern Conference teams (Tennessee in the Cotton Bowl six years ago and Georgia in the Independence Bowl last year).

“I told the team before the game that I was proud of them, and that doesn’t change because we lost a football game,” Sherman said. “They took a lot of the steps that I asked them to take this season. But we couldn’t take the final step.”

Toliver earned offensive player of the game honors; LSU cornerback Tyrann Mathieu earned the defensive nod for his seven tackles, sack and interception.

Fast start for naught

A&M’s night started promising enough when Coryell Judie returned the opening kick 69 yards, and five plays later Tannehill connected with Uzoma Nwachukwu for a 6-yard touchdown. The Aggies padded their lead later in the first quarter on a 39-yard Randy Bullock field goal, but LSU countered with two touchdowns.

LSU entered the game with the SEC’s second-ranked defense (eighth nationally), and from midway through the second quarter on held A&M to a lone touchdown. Aggies running back Cyrus Gray collected his seventh consecutive 100-yard rushing game, but he failed to get in the end zone for only the second time in the past seven games.

The Tigers also snapped a five-game losing streak to the Aggies, although the teams hadn’t played since 1995 in what once was a storied annual rivalry. On Friday, Toliver stamped his name in the series annals — against a school he grew up 40 miles from.

“He’s a spectacular player,” Miles said, “and he came back to Texas to do this.”